A Tradition of Happiness and Love

If you are like me the fall season is a feeling. Even though in my neck of the woods its still relatively warm for nearing October, I can still feel it is fall and I can't help but get that nostalgic pull to pumpkins and the obsessiveness with colors like orange, brown and hunter green. I can't even walk around stores like Target right now without wanting to buy up all of the Halloween and fall decorations. In fact, I came home from Target with a solitary bag of pretend leaves just because it was in the dollar section and I wanted to buy something that felt like fall. Part of it I think is because we've had our fill with the scorching heat...and the feeling of the holidays right around the corner fills the air with excitement. For me its always been special because my birthday is in fall and now so is my baby's, so it's an extra special time.

I was thinking about it today and this time of year reminds me of family and tradition. Last year for my birthday, a friend gave me a wonderful book called, Heaven's Touch: A Tribute to Women, featuring art by Greg Olsen. He is one of my absolute favorites. The above picture is actually one of his from his "Childhood" collection. I found this picture in my book and so I went on Greg Olsen's website to search for it. I loved the description of the picture, called "Fall Leaves". It reads, "These young children are in the enviable state of not yet having learned that raking leaves is supposed to be work. They have turned a chore into pure fun. The reward of their raking is the creation of a mountain of leaves large and soft enough to catch them as they jump from the branches of the tree above. All this, while a neighbor leans on a rake in his garden in front of a trash pile of burning leaves. Greg Olsen - 2006"

So, it got me thinking about the importance of family time and the pure joy and happiness that can be created in the culture of any particular family. And I think it really is that...an individual "culture". More than anything else in the world, we remember how things were done in our home growing up. The effects our upbringing and homelife have on us, is arguably more effective than any other experience in life. It is during a crucial time where we are learning about life and discovering who we are.

The quote that went along in my book with Greg Olsen's picture was one from prophet Joseph F. Smith. He said, "There can be no genuine happiness separate and aprt from the home....There is no happiness without service, and there is no service greater than that which converts the home into a divine institution, and which promotes and preserves family life....The strongest attachments of childhood are those that cluster about the home, and the dearest memories of old age are those that call up the associations of youth and its happy surroundings."

What better way is there then, as parents, to make those few short years a positive and memorable experience, than creating family traditions? Definitely, specific holidays and times of year remind us of certain traditions, which is why I bring it up now. Certainly though, there are everyday traditions that can and should be established in a home like family scripture study, prayer...family home evening on a weekly basis, attending church services together, enjoying at least one meal a day all together at the dinner table enjoying one anothers company, etc. For example, one mine and my husband's traditions since we were dating is that we go on evening walks. We've always loved to go on walks together...(or a run), but its something that we plan on continuing with our children as often as possible throughout the week. I am sure there will be times, when we have teenagers that they will not be as happy to go on the walks as they once were, (just ask my dad about trying to get me to go on bike rides with the family at sixteen years old. I mean, seriously, seven plus bikes riding down the street...helmets and all, and I swear he'd go right in front of my friends' houses just to drive me nuts, haha) but I'm hoping that creating this tradition in our "family culture" will help to cultivate our relationships and teach them that family togetherness and quality time is important.

This is something important to my husband and I because we learned it from very loving parents who knew that family time was important. It wasn't always expensive trips or extravagant events...but they were significant enough that it imprinted in our hearts the importance of this family time.

Getting back to this time of year, I wanted to share some of our families traditions. Some of them more "typical" some of them more "sentimental". I think for my husband's family, the food they've made at certain holidays has become significantly sentimental. What is a Thanksgiving dinner without Mom's homemade rolls? Pumpkin pie will always remind us of his dear grandpa, who even in his very ill days, would enjoy a piece because it was his favorite. Going around the table before eating on Thanksgiving to express what we are thankful for. The beautiful table settings and display of food that looks to gorgeous to even eat. The matching pajama's on Christmas for all of the great-grandchildren from Great Grandma. The list goes on and on.

For my family, it has always been a tradition that on Christmas morning, before going out to the Christmas tree, we stood oldest to youngest and covered the eyes of the one in front of us to walk out. Dad always makes a fabulous Christmas morning breakfast. Mom always makes fudge and english toffee. The race to find Baby Jesus within the mounds of packing popcorn in the box of the Nativity set. Chris Mouse and his microphone to Santa Claus to make sure we were being good little boys and girls. The letters we would write to him and the notes we would get back on tiny stationary. We used to leave him cheese and he would nibble it down leaving only crumbs...or a stick to come back and see "mouse bites". (I can't believe the effort Mom and Dad put in for us to have the Spirit of Christmas. They truly love us).

All of these times have created memories that we will never forget, and we hope to continue on with our children. Ultimately, it doesn't matter what the specific tradition is, as long as there is a pattern of love in our homes and the things that we do as a family, I hope that they will look back on their upbringing with happiness and love. And if we acheive that, there will be no greater accomplishment. Because as David O. McKay said, “No other success can compensate for failure in the home.”

If you feel so inclined, I'd love to hear of your family traditions (or ones you hope to start) that you'd like to share. I love hearing from you...I plan on getting better at commenting back. Nonetheless, I read them all and getting your insight and comments makes my day.